Guys and Dolls presented by Children's Summer Musical, Rocky Ford

The Rocky Ford Children's Summer Musical is "Guys and Dolls" this year. It is playing at the Grand Theater Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Bette McFarren

"Guys and Dolls," music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows sports some of the nicest songs and also some of the funniest to come from a Broadway production. The music is challenging, the costume changes frequent, and the scenery makes for a varied and interchangeable set construction. J.R. Thompson is the director of this admirable enterprise and Laura Thompson is the technical director and designer. The musical director is Mike Shima and the stage crew is Thompson, Doug Hudson, Larry Haley and Theodore Hare.
The first big moment is when the gamblers enter from the back of the theater singing "I've Got a Horse Right Here, His name is Paul Revere." They could use a little more volume, but are probably singing as loudly as they can. The orchestra consists of Dean Rees on the Clavichord and Teri Miller on the bass guitar, who do a great job, right up front with Shima, the musical director, at base of the stage where the kids can see them.
Hard to believe are the number of songs with which many of us have grown up that come from this musical: "I'll Know (when my love comes along)," "A Bushel and a Peck," "If I Were a Bell," "Luck Be a Lady," "Sue Me," "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," to name a few. A personal favorite was "If I Were a Bell," delivered enthusiastically and tunefully by Sierra Frentress, who does a superb job with the character Sarah Brown, a woman devoted to saving souls at the mission and ends up with at least one sinner converted, the gambler Sky Masterson, played by Michael Rees. Sky's "Luck Be a Lady" is another standout number. Makes one think of Frank Sinatra. The whole play probably brings back memories of Frank to an older generation.
The song called "Adelaide's Lament" is a showcase for Elizabeth Thornton, who plays a bold and brassy Adelaide. This is the "In other words, a girl could get a cold/ Just waitin' for that little band of gold" song. Her mission is to get Nathan Detroit (played by Ethan Burgess) to marry her. Their number together, "Sue Me," probably stopped the show on Broadway and is very good right here at the Grand Theater.
Make sure to see this play, which also features "The Oldest Established (floating crap game)" and the same sinners converted (maybe) at a prayer meeting. These are a group of very entertaining youngsters, especially Benny Southstreet played by Triston Werner, who wields a wicked cigar (unlit, of course). The girls of the mission band double as the girls of the chorus when Adelaide does her night club act. A person wonders how all those little girls got through all those costume changes flawlessly. One suspects a crew of mothers backstage.
Have fun at the Grand Theater with the summer musical, "Guys and Dolls." It will be playing Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 at the Grand Theater in Rocky Ford.